Thanks to Etsy LITDigitalart Returning Customers

One of the highest forms of flattery is getting an order from a previous customer. I’ve been painting digitalart custom pet portraits for eight years when I opened my Etsy shop. When the iPad was introduced in 2010, it reignited my love for painting. Rather than watercolors, pastels, ink and charcoal, my studio is on the iPad and travels with me - though we aren’t traveling much these days. The holiday season is typically busier than other times of the year, and memorial portrait requests are not uncommon. Last week I received three orders in one day - from customers that I worked with many years ago. I don’t need to explain the process and it feels like old friends because there is a lot of back and forth communication during the process. Selecting the best photo, suggesting several options, creating the prelim sketch, sending updates, seeking approval of the final draft, and then sending the portrait, in process compilation, suggestions for digitalart options aside from a framed image, and a PNG image in case something doesn’t require a square background are all part of the process. I always appreciate the wonderful feedback comments that are left on my Etsy shop and to me personally. Sometimes a photo of the gift is sent to me of the completed project. So thank you for remembering me. I have a portrait of our wonderful Borzoi Tatiana in our home. Every time I look at it I remember her. It feels good to share that experience. 

Picking Up Sticks for Holiday Decor

When we lived in the Midwest we had an acre of land with several trees. They were trees that made great branches for filling window boxes and planters for the Christmas season. We also had dogwood bushes and other sticks in all colors that could be cut down for the same reason. We no longer have that luxury. We now live in a condo in northern Virginia and have a balcony. On the balcony we have three “window boxes” that are zip tied to the back of the furniture because you can’t hang anything from the balcony. It sounds weird, but our arrangement works. So this year we filled the planters with English ivy, liriope and pansies with the idea to add greenery to them for Christmas - especially since we aren’t going anywhere this year. So we got some greens from American plant, but I forgot to look for sticks. Yesterday on our morning walk I was reminded about that when we came across a nice branch that was in the street. I scooped it up and kept my eyes open for a few more sticks that could fill the planters and also the wall vase and plant container on the console table. You could say I was helping to clean up the neighborhood! Anyway, it worked out well. I didn’t dare pick things from the park, but the street seemed like an ok idea. Now I need to find out if stringing lights is not prohibited by the condo rules. 

Zazzle, Redbubble, FAA/Pixels, Amazon Merch Sales

Pet portraits are my favorite digital art projects. This time of the year is usually the busiest for me as they make for wonderful holiday gifts. I am working on three this week! When the portraits are completed, I post them on my other websites - Zazzle, Redbubble, FAA/Pixels and Amazon Merch. Getting orders for portraits is a lot more time consuming than selling products - but the gratification is equal. It’s so wonderful to get notices when items sell, but also from all over the world - United Kingdom, Canada, and everywhere in the US. A boxer mug, pooch T-shirt and Supreme Court face mask were sold on Zazzle; Birman cat mug and iPhone case, sheltie zipper pouch, husky sticker and yorkie socks were sold on Redbubble; two black German Shepherd tshirts on Amazon Merch; and Fine Art America/pixels sold two Cairn Terrier masks. I am so thrilled that people notice my work. The commissions are tiny on any of these products but I am so tickled when I get a notice. So thank you all for requesting portraits of your favorite pets. Without them I couldn’t upload the lovely images other customers like enough to purchase. It is amazing how far and wide the digitalart travels. 

Marie Callender’s or Stouffer’s Roast Turkey Dinner

Our Thanksgivings are always small scale. When we grew up in Florida it was just our immediate family of five. All of our relatives lived in New England. Over the last several years we hosted my immediate family, but this year we didn’t even do that. Since I found Jennie-O cook in the bag turkeys, I’ve never gone back. Then the turkey boned in breast was the next best thing, but that would be much too much for just the two of us. My husband did not grow up with this holiday or turkey, so doing something on an even smaller scale was needed. I searched for turkey dinner options but couldn’t really find any. So I decided to get frozen dinners - just for the taste. We would make mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing and hope for the best. Well, neither the Marie Callander’s nor Stouffer’s roast turkey dinners were worth the effort. There was barely a turkey piece to be found. It was all stuffing and not much of anything else. It didn’t look anything like the picture on the box - not that I was expecting anything more. So it ended up being a bust as was the holiday. It was the first Thanksgiving without my mom, who passed away in February, we didn’t have our usual get together, and I was not in the greatest of moods. I may continue to look for a butterball turkey breast just for the heck of it. I really miss the leftovers. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Capitol Christmas Tree

We used to watch it as it rolled in on the big truck. But since we moved to northern Virginia from Capitol Hill several months ago, the Capitol Christmas tree arrived last week and we weren’t there to greet it. I remember the first year we moved to DC in 2006 we walked over after work to see the tree lighting ceremony with our grandson, and then checked out the botanical garden to watch the outdoor train display. But we still live close enough to drive in to the old neighborhood for a morning walk and made the tree our destination. It’s not really ready yet as the dedication ceremony is usually scheduled for early December, and the ornaments are not quite up. And this year the inauguration platform is being built behind it at the same time. Everything around the Capitol building is fenced off, but there was one gate left open so we could get in a bit closer - but hardly. The Capitol grounds grass never looked so good. The tree this year is from Colorado. The whole city is still weirdly quiet. There aren’t any visitors as everything is still closed down. When we continued our walk towards the mall we saw a falcon chewing on something, and the streets were empty. Heading back to the car was a difficult climb back up the hill - yes, there really is a hill! We will need to come back and visit in the evening y to  see the lit tree as well as the Eisenhower memorial that is supposed to have magnificent background lighting. We try to have a morning walk in town once a week. It’s a great change in scenery and we still feel connected to our old neighborhood. 

American Plant Christmas Greenery

It’s been eight months since we visited American Plant. We usually go to Ginkgo Gardens on Capitol Hill for plants and flowers, but at this time of the year the Christmas greens are so lovely at American plant. After our morning walk we drove over to Bethesda after deciding we would literally walk in to the place rather than do curbside pickup. It felt weird because I always take photos for my blog, but felt a bit constrained - we haven’t been inside a shop for so long and felt a bit uncomfortable. The greens are really housed in an outdoorsy set up and luckily there weren’t a lot of people milling about. I thought before Thanksgiving it would be quieter but this year is anybody’s guess of usual activity. I had already looked on line and had an idea of what I wanted, but felt rushed and didn’t really look around as much as I would have liked. So we ended up with a swag that will be ripped apart, some boxwood, and one bunch of other greens along with a new string of lights that will be put on the planters that are outside on the balcony. I’m planning to stuff them with some of these greens and make that the focal point of our decorations this year. I miss our Midwest home because I could easily find sticks and greens in the yard. Some of the fake sticks and such will be used too since I didn’t get any! Since we aren’t going to visit our family this year it makes sense to do a bit of decorating. Trying to be normal is hard. I hope it feels better once the greens are all in place. 

Selfie Face Mask

Painting is a great past time and hobby. I started coloring in kindergarten, then graduated to watercolor, paint by number oils, pastels and charcoal. I didn’t attend any formal classes, but enjoyed sketching through college. Then the real work in nursing, management, and civil service took over. But when the iPad came along on 2010 my love for drawing was reignited. I’ve been doing custom pet portraits for eight years now along with other personal paintings. Travel and Capitol Hill serve as great inspiration. When I saw an artist in Brazil making masks that matched the lower half of the person’s face I was intrigued. He actually painted the person’s face on the material. It looked so real! So I was inspired to see if I could try making one for my husband. This would be conceptual only because my husband would never wear it.  So I searched for a decent photo and painted out his face from it, then uploaded it to Fine Art America to see what it would look like. It was a little pinker than it should have been, but the idea was compelling and I had fun making it. I should have a mask made up just for the heck of it, but getting the dimensions just right is a bit tricky without having a few tries at it. In the meantime, that guy had a very clever idea. 

Freeze Warnings and Plants Don’t Mix

I’ve never really worried about it before. Our gardens and window boxes survived harsh temperatures in the Midwest and on our tiny patio garden on Capitol Hill. But since we moved to northern Virginia several months ago we have a balcony garden of sorts. What it is is three “window box” coco lined planters that are zip tied to the back of the seats. In summer, they were filled with petunias and faced out. Now in fall-winter the backs of the seats face toward us so we can see the planters from the living room. Ginkgo gardens helped us with the selections both times. We used to go there regularly when we lived on Capitol Hill and they provided the flowers curbside. The last bunch was pansies, English ivy and liriope. Everything seemed to be going well until freeze warnings were posted last week. It was just too early for a freeze! So I cut off a large piece of plastic from a roll that we had gotten to use on the floor in the foyer so we could “sanitize” every box and grocery bag these last several months. The plastic was wrapped around the containers with staples in place, and then I kept my fingers crossed overnight. The next day the plastic was removed and the plants seemed to look okay. I watered them a bit hoping to avoid root rot, and was happy to see that two new pansies bloomed just today. It was so nice to see that they survived the night. The next additions will be living greens for the holidays. That may be a trick to find this year. 

A Ride In to DC for a Morning Walk

One of the main reasons to check the weather forecast at the beginning of the week is the figure out the best day to take a ride in to town for a morning walk. It’s great for a change of scenery and to stay connected to our old neighborhood on Capitol Hill. We lived in DC for thirteen years and like to retrace our old footsteps even if nothing much is happening. And so was the case on Tuesday. It was really windy and the skies were looking angry by the time we headed back home. We parked in a familiar spot where the ginkgo leaves carpeted the street. The almost completed Native American Veterans Memorial was getting the finishing touches. The Hirshhorn sculpture garden was basking in the sunlight with the newest items on display. Then it was on to the fountains and gardens of the Smithsonian castle. The streets were still empty and the city very quiet - nothing like we were used to when we lived there but all too common since March. The sun continues to rise and set and the world spins in spite of everything else. We try to keep a positive outlook but some days it’s harder than others. Taking a stroll along familiar streets helps.